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When Canvas Design offered me the chance to review some products for them, I jumped on the chance. Like most parents, I love having photos of my two little people on the wall but I hate photo frames that often take the focus away from the photo. That’s why I love canvases.
I love these canvases that I was sent – they’re now pride of place on our living room wall!

All I had to do was send my chose photo to them. It took me ages to decide which one to send. I on!y sent the original one and they emailed straight away to say if I wanted a big canvas the photo would need to be better quality as they do tend to distort when enlarged. Unfortunately all of my photos are of similar quality (iPhone, then uploaded again from Facebook) so I decided to have three smaller ones instead. The canvases have turned out brilliantly, no noticeable distortion and feel sturdy and good quality.
The prices are really reasonable and on their website they offer a price match guarantee! Their customer service was fantastic -they emailed me straight away about my photo quality. I ordered on Tuesday night and they arrived Friday afternoon by courier. You get a text message on the morning to give you a time frame in which it will be delivered, which is useful! A hanging kit is also supplied with the canvas so you don’t have to faff about it buying bits to put them up.

Canvas Design have given me the amazing opportunity to give one of their canvases, worth up to £59.99, to a reader, with a photo of their choice. Sizes range from a cute little 6×6″ to a huge 40×40″! You need to enter using the rafflecopter link below – I do check all entries so make sure you do the mandatory ones! Even if you don’t win, you can still order one of their canvases at a 15% discount by entering ‘BLOG15’ at the checkout. Delivery is also free which is even better!!

Another beautiful day….or not! I don’t like moaning too much about the weather as living in central Birmingham we are fairly protected, especially compared to these poor people in Somerset and other areas that are pretty much underwater!

Anyway, we turned the radio on to try and block the sound of the wind and rain, cranked the heating up and made some lovely Valentines cards. We had been sent a box of craft goodies by Baker Ross, which was perfect timing for the Valentines cards I had planned.

I had originally planned to make some pop out Valentines cards, but in the box from Baker Ross was a pack of pre-cut pop up heart cards,very similar to the ones we were going to make! For a pack of 8 cards it costs £2.56 on their website, so not badly priced!

Of course, I cheated and used these instead of making them, but if you want to have a go at making your own, here is what we were going to do:

1) Fold a piece of card in half
2) Draw a heart in the middle. Make sure the crease of the card goes through the middle of the heart.
3) Cut the heart out, leaving a small piece each side of the card intact
4) Make sure there is a crease in the middle of the heart.

The ones that I was sent came in a choice of red, white and pink.

We used a selection of the embellishments we were sent, as well as some of the materials I had already put in our Valentines Craft Box.

I put the embellishments in a serving tray and let them choose whatever they wanted and decorate however they liked. The items from Baker Ross were great as they were all self adhesive – usually with similar items we use a glue stick and they drop off, so I end up using glue guns but these had little sticky pads on the back. I wasn’t a massive fan of the little bows though, as they weren’t stuck together, so one gentle pull and they come undone. I really liked the felt rose stickers !

The kids really enjoyed decorating their cards and they looked really cute. I joined in and made a Valentines Card for their daddy – I’m clearly not as artistic as my kids!

When we had finished making these ( the other four cards have been out away for next year!) Harrison asked to do some more sewing, so I quickly made a heart with holes in to sew, which after the initial knot he did pretty well independently, and I sat with Alex to make a hanging heart.
I cut out a heart shape from red card and then cut out the centre. Using the bits and pieces left over from the cards he decorated it. I noticed doing this that his fine motor skills are really coming along. He’s coming up to sixteen months old – he took the lid off the rather small glue stick, managed to put glue on the back of quite small buttons and shapes and press them onto the heart without much help, which I don’t think is bad going for his age! His pen grip is almost spot on as well, which is amazing.

We used lots of textures whilst doing this – soft foam, hard and smooth buttons, fluffy feathers which is perfect for a young toddler, especially Alex who loves using his thumb to explore texture.

We looped some red wool around the heart and hung it on the wall. Hopefully we will add some more hanging hearts the week!

Disclaimer
* denotes products that we were sent free of charge from Baker Ross for review purposes, and are available to buy on their website. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As you may have read, we are in the process of potty training Harrison. This means when we are at home he is quite often running around in just a pair of pants on his bottom half. This saves my washing pile, but even with the heating cranked up I worry his legs might be cold. When I saw some cute leg warmers at Nappy kind Boutique, I couldn’t resist ordering some.

I apologise in advance for the blurry photos – taking decent photos of toddlers who refuse to keep still for more than a second at a time on an ancient iPhone is something I’m yet to accomplish!

There are tonnes of gorgeous designs for boys and girls, and plenty of unisex ones, so would be a great gift for a baby. The prices are really reasonable as well. Harrison’s funky blue stripy ones were sale ones and were just £1.99.

They’re beautifully soft and easy to get on and off, which is handy for a two year old who is learning to dress himself. What they were brilliant for is keeping his legs warm whilst leaving perfect access to get to the potty quickly! Although the material is quite thick, it’s not bulky so good for layering under clothes, especially in this weather. Harrison has long legs but these went right up to this thigh and are stretchy so don’t dig in. My only criticism is when he was jumping around like the loony that he is they tended to roll down occasionally.

I obviously couldn’t not pick something for Alex, so I chose him an adorable leggings. I am completely in love with these – couldn’t wait to get them washed and dried ready to wear again, and I’m secretly (or not so secretly now!) coveting a pair for myself (a sideline perhaps for Nappykind?!)

I know that boy tights and leggings are becoming more and more popular because as well as looking unbelievably cute they are really practical. I chose Alex these ‘doughnut shop’ ones which again were on sale at £1.99. I ordered 12-24 months which fit him spot on but have more than enough growing room. I particularly love the bum which is extra roomy to accommodate bulky nappies.

They’re practical as they’re easy to get on and off for those never ending bum changes, but more importantly, they’re comfortable. As am adult, I find jeans restrictive and I’m much more comfy in leggings (part of the slummy mummy uniform!). For a toddler who sees the lounge as an adventure activity centre this must be even more so, and it isn’t very easy to find bottoms that aren’t jeans for boys. Again, they’re great for layering under clothes.

I asked a few friends what they think of these and they all said how lovely they are, but because they’re so patterned it can be hard to match clothes. I can definitely see this as I couldn’t see many plain designs, but on the other hand, toddlers can pull the mismatched look off!! Alex looked great wearing the doughnuts leggings with a Batman sweatshirt and a blue and red stripy vest!!

Nappykind’s range doesn’t just include leg warmers and leggings – they stock cute little booties, cloth nappies and tights, and sizes go up to age four.
I waited until I washed and dried them because I always think that how something is after washing is a sign of its quality. These didn’t disappoint – no shrinkage or bobbling yet! I imagine after a few wears the odd bobble may appear especially with crawling babies but that is just the nature of the material.

I will be definitely buying some more of the leggings for both kids!!

Follow them on Twitter @NappyKind

*Disclosure
I was able to purchase these with a special bloggers discount, but all opinions and thoughts expressed are my own.

As a mum to a potty training toddler, I jumped at the chance to review a game all about potty training!

The box was lovely and colourful, and the contents didn’t disappoint. It’s bright and sturdy. Quite often, the ‘task’ cards As a mum to a potty training toddler, I jumped at the chance to review a game all about potty training! board games can be a bit flimsy but these were made of thick glossy board.

The idea of the game is to make it to the toilet. You choose a card and it either praises you for one of the aspects of potty training – washing hands, flushing toilet, pulling down pants etc, which allows you to move forward, or you get a card that keeps you on the spot because you have had an accident.

Because the game is produced in America some of the language is Americanised, such as diaper instead of nappy, but it’s not a big issue. More than likely it would be an adult reading it so it would be easy enough to substitute for more familiar language.

It would be fab for parents, childminders, nurseries or anyone potty training more than one child at a time and is a great way to encourage turn taking and following rules.

I am giving this board game away to one lucky winner. Check out the rafflecopter form below to see how you can enter. This competition is only open to Uk mainland residents. It will close on Monday 17th February and I will notify winner.

A couple of weeks ago we reviewed an excellent craft kit from ToucanBox. Today we used the other box that we were sent, and yet again I was very impressed!!

We have started our pirate theme week today but were also visiting my nan. The Toucan Box set was perfect to chuck in my bag to do there , as it is low mess and literally everything we needed was contained in the box!

We were sent a lovely pirate treasure map set. When I say it contained everything, I mean everything – even down to the glue stick, paint brush and teabag to stain the paper!

We made a pot of tea using the teabag provided (and had a cuppa with it – bonus!) and left into stew to go nice and dark as the very simple step by step instructions directed. We scrumpled up the paper and then used the paintbrush to ‘paint’ on the tea, and left it to dry. Whilst it was drying we made the parrot puppet- a cardboard cutout which we decorated with the mini felt pens included, and then glued on the feathers, googly eye and jumbo lolly stick. The only thing I would say is the glue stick didn’t hold the lollystick handle or eye on very well – I’ve used my glue gun to make it more secure. Perhaps some sort of sticky back or sticky pad would hold it better? Minor details though!

Once the paper had dried we decorated it with the pirate stickers and felt tip pens. What do you think?

The prices for Toucan Boxes vary depending on what level of subscription you go for, but single packs are available which give a months worth of craft ideas for just under £20, which would make a lovely gift idea.
The lovely people at Toucan have given me a code to share with you to claim a free taster box! Just visit their website <a href="http://www.toucanbox.com
“>here and enter the code TOUCAN.
Enjoy!

* I was sent this and another Toucan Box for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I was really excited the other day when our postlady dropped these through the door – our review samples from Toucan Box.

Toucan Box is a small company, and was the brainwave of a busy mum of two. Her daughter wanted to make all the fantastic things she saw kids TV presenters knock up from a couple of bits lying about. Except, like most mums, she didn’t have all the resources. So, she developed Toucan Boxes, which contain every resource that you need to complete a craft project.

I received two boxes for this review. The one is a brand new pirate themed box, which I have popped away until we do our pirate theme in a couple of weeks, but a sneaky peek has left me excited about it!! We dived into the other one straight away, and all I can say is WOW!!!

The box contained everything we needed to decorate a canvas bag. Inside was a small canvas shopping bag, a pack of four mini felt tips, stencils, paper and tissue paper and a paintbrush as well as nature scavenger hunt cards.

The instructions were really clear – we basically had to design a pattern with the tissue paper on the paper, dab water on the tissue paper with the paintbrush and press it onto the bag. It did say it needed 24 hours to dry but within a couple of hours hung above the radiator it was dry. We then used the stencils and pens to finish the bag.

I’ve put the scavenger cards away for now (there’s one for each season) to do at a later date when weather perks up, but what a fab idea! Harrison’s been using it when playing with his market stall as his little shopping bag. The instructions also contain links to the EYFS framework and key stage one and two, so you know where it fits in with your child’s education. It also comes with a few extra ideas to extend the activity.

I can say that I am certainly very impressed with the quality of the resources and the fact it contains everything we needed, other than scissors!!

The prices for Toucan Boxes vary depending on what level of subscription you go for, but single packs are available which give a months worth of craft ideas for just under £20, which would make a lovely gift idea.
The lovely people at Toucan have given me a code to share with you to claim a free taster box! Just visit their website here and enter the code TOUCAN.
Enjoy!

* I was sent this and another pack free of charge for the purpose of this review. All opinions and thoughts expressed are my own.

Today was the start of our ‘under the sea’ week, and to kick it off we went to the Birmingham Sea Life Centre, who had kindly put us on their guest list.
I’d been there years and years ago with friends and enjoyed it so was excited about taking the two little people there!

It was incredibly busy when we got there at 11am. I’d forgotten that some schools don’t go back until tomorrow! We didn’t have to wait too long though.
The centre is connected by ramps and walkways, and if I’m honest they’re a little narrow, especially as there was lots of pushchairs, making it extremely hard to get past. It also meant Harrison and Alex were bumped into a lot by adults who don’t appear to watch they’re walking! We didn’t get very close to a lot of displays either. The windows to see things are quite high and in some parts there are a step for the kids to stand on but quite a lot didn’t, which meant we constantly had to pick the kids up so they could see.

We enjoyed the interactive rockpool where you can touch and hold starfish and crabs. If you know me, you know I have a serious phobia of crabs, but I was really brave and managed to touch (albeit extremely quickly!) one. The lady who was looking after the area was really lovely and made me feel at ease and not at all stupid.
It’s a lovely place to walk through. There are areas that make you feel like you’re walking through rainforests, and areas that are very dark and atmospheric. The jellyfish (which were one of my favourite things – never realised how incredibly beautiful they are!) were bathed in neon lights making them look spectacular.

I’m not sure Harrison felt entirely comfortable with the darkness but that’s an age thing. Alex loved it! We enjoyed the big tank of rays,especially Alex who kept waving at them and threw a wobbler when we left it!

However, the absolute highlight of the visit was their famous 360 degree glass tunnel. It is amazing, watching huge rays and hammerhead sharks glide above you, watching tiny fish swim beneath your feet, but best of all seeing the truly incredible giant sea turtle swim past you.

However, I do have a few moans. I remember the 4d cinema being fantastic, and was looking forward to visiting it. However the queuing area for it is in the same area as the otter feeding area so was chaotic and poorly organised. There were no staff to tell us how long it was to wait and no clear queue start/end point, with us and several families standing around feeling very confused. We eventually worked out that the next viewing was a 20 minute wait. The area is on a sort of balcony so is open, and was very cold. The centre is obviously very warm so we hadn’t got coats and was freezing, so had to leave the queue. By this point, all the other families waiting had also given up and moved on. I was really disappointed that we didn’t get that opportunity, but couldn’t stand in the freezing cold with two toddlers for that long. We also never got to see the otters either. A lot of the displays were either empty or covered with a sign saying they were being ‘spring cleaned’,
The centre has the obligatory gift shop, which was reasonably priced. We bought a lovely little pirate chest for our upcoming pirate week which was £3.50 and a shark grabber which was £3 so not horrendous!
All in all? Well, I think I would have been disappointed if we had paid the £30+ ticket price for me and Graham (kids under three are free). We enjoyed it but were only there just over an hour which I don’t think warrants the price. However, I think if you’d had older kids who could see into the tanks easily and were prepared to wait for a long time to see things and went when they’re not doing a big clean and building new exhibitions you would enjoy it.